CLOSE SHAVE: Brown's sending off against Hull only carries a single game punishment [GETTY]

Veteran defender Brown has been told he will miss the next two games after being sent off for a foul on Shane Long in the 2-0 Premier League defeat by Hull.

“The offence carries a one-game ban, with an extra match added due to the defender having already received a further red card earlier in the season”

Sunderland spokesperson

It was the ex-England centre-back’s third red card of the campaign - although the one he earned at Stoke in November was chalked-off on appeal.

Initial fears Brown faced a four-game ban - which would have ruled the 34-year-old out of next month’s Capital One Cup final with Manchester City - were banished when the FA confirmed a two-game lay-off, starting with Wednesday’s dress-rehearsal at the Etihad Stadium.

Brown will also sit out Saturday’s fifth round FA Cup visit by Southampton, as Gus Poyet’s side close in on a second Wembley visit of the campaign.

A club spokesman said: “The offence carries a one-game ban, with an extra match added due to the defender having already received a further red card earlier in the season.”